On or off topic ?

At this point its pretty safe to say that im not just going write about things that fit 100% under the label rasta.  And that also kinda reflects my life - I wouldn't be honest with myself if i would say that yeah i'm this and that. 

So yeah, thing i wanted to share is a website, or youtube channel - Improv Everywhere. Their slogan is We Cause Scenes. And i just love that. Bunch of people that dont know each other - gather around doing something really different that causes people to stop and think - maybe smile, or get angry. It all really depends if you are a uptight or more relax person. But its civil disobediance in the most fun form.

So, please do check them out, lots of laughs quaranteed and if you feel like tickling your mind too:  Think about what we consider as norms of society, how we should act, what we should were so that we would blend in, cuz aint that what everyone wants to do. Blend in.

Improv Everyone on Youtube

About Israel & Gaza war.

I met a guy few weeks ago that was reading this blog and he presented me an interesting question - what is my view on the war between Palestine and Israel.

At that time, i had actually been thinking of writing something down about the topic but didnt have anything to say.  This urge to write my personal opinion was also prompted by some forum discussions that where going on in one site that i also frequently follow. 

So this morning, on my way to work, im checking out the news and one politician from christian party had made comments about a comic in green party's magazine. This comic portraied that david's star has started to resemble nazi swastika and according to him this is racism  against jewish people.  While i kinda understand that and cannot completely deny the rationale behind that, it also raised some thoughts about the conversation i had with that guy few weeks back and discussions on net that i've partaken.

It seems that for some people anti-semitism and anti-zionism are one and the  same. As for my background, being a member of Twelve Tribes of Israel organization, this kind of assumption puts me into a tricky spot cuz well, my sympathy in this on-going war goes to the people of Palestine.  So how could I, with clear consciousness by against Israel and yet claim to be part of Israel?

Because no matter how much Israel goverment pushes their propaganda that they are in war between Hamas and themselves - the real problem is still that goverment of Israel is the cause of suffering in Palestine by their actions of expanding borders to Gaza strip.  And one more thing about propaganda, news here in Finland always use phrasing that its war between Hamas and Israel, not Palestine and Israel.  According to what i know about Palestinian goverment, Hamas was and still major party in Palestine goverment and gained the position thru demographic voting.  This is minor issue but wording news like that play a big role in Israeli propaganda war.

Does this make me anti-semetic or anti-zionist?   I hope im neither but 1300 deaths, half of those have been women and children, doesnt make me a big fan of goverment of Israel.

After checking out the comic on green party's magazine, i found myself reading some articles in Jerusalem Post and ended up in wikipedia where i found something interesting. The topic was about Satmar Hasidic jews, who, according to wikipedia article are one of biggest and most influential hasidic sects. Let me quote few parts of the page

Before World War II all Hasidic rabbis as well as many prominent non-Hasidic Orthodox leaders, believed that God had promised to return the Jewish people to the Land of Israel by means of the actions of the Jewish Messiah, and that any activity on behalf of the Jews themselves to create or instigate this redemption would be punished.
one of the core citations from classical Judaic sources cited by Reb Yoel for his opposition to modern Zionism was that of the Three Oaths mentioned in the Talmud (Kesuboth 111A) which discusses a passage from the Song of Songs in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) in which God made the Israelites promise "to wait for Him before arousing His love":
"King Solomon in Song of Songs thrice adjured the 'daughters of Jerusalem' not to arouse or bestir the love until it is ready.' The Talmud explains that we are bound by three strong oaths not to ascend to the Holy Land as a group using force, not to rebel against the governments of countries in which we live, and not by our sins, to prolong the coming of moshiach"
In keeping with the three oaths, Satmar Hasidim were strongly opposed to the creation of modern Israel through violence and antagonism against gentile nations such as the Ottomans and Britain. In the years following the Holocaust, Rabbi Teitelbaum undertook to maintain and strengthen this position, as did many other Torah Jews and communities. Rabbi Teitelbaum declared that the State of Israel was a violation of Jewish teachings. This was both because of the Zionists' violation of the traditional belief that Jews must wait for the Messiah to re-create Israel, and also because its founders included many personalities who were both hostile to Orthodox Judaism, or simply indifferent to it. Rabbi Teitelbaum believed the creation of the State of Israel, against the oaths described in Ketubot, constituted a form of impatience. In keeping with the Talmud's warnings that impatience for God's love and redemption can lead to grave danger, the Satmar Hasidim have often interpreted the constant wars and terrorism in Israel as fulfilment of that prophecy.

They see opposition to Zionism as an expression of love of the Holy Land, protecting it from the defilement of bloodshed and war (and not only from secularism, as many assume).
In this light, can we still assume that anti-semitism and anti-zionism is one and the same ? I don't think so.






Heaving reading eh ? I'll end this entry by sharing a song i wrote few weeks ago. It doesnt have very optimistic view on current world topics but bare with me, i just need a outlet to ventilate ;)

World is a ghetto, It dont care if we live or die
So i say, World is a ghetto, one less mouth to feed, one more mama cry  ( oh don't ask me why )

Knife problem,guns and ammunition.
world Hunger and over population
war in gaza strip in middle east
Life aint no eazeeh
Fundamentals and new world order
Fire in the streets pure slaughter people fed up get ready for the takeover ( for the takeover )
Times are so serious In the ghetto
Life is getting harder yet,my people cant let go
I hear a gun shot a bust and your friend is dead now
robbing and looting killing and shooting
life is a struggle in the ghetto

Declare yourself

One of the things i've found in the internet that i can fully endorse to every person that i know and don't know is a site called TED. It stands for Technology, Entertainment & Design.  Having said that, it doesnt sound like it has any interested to average joe schome even to me.  But it really is.

TED is a yearly conference that gathers thinkers and doers all around the world to give a short - max 20 min speech of their life.  These speeches are recorded and can be viewed from TED.com.

That said, ted prize portraied UN's Universal Decleration of Human rights few days ago in their site and since the topic of human rights is more relevant than ever, i wanted to share that vibe too.


And while im at it, ted affiliate CharterForCompassion.com provides this video.

Main character on that last video is Karen Armstrong who won TEDPrize for 2008. Her 20 minute speech in TED can be viewed here.

Call is out for everyone to share these videos.